Since the Next Gen race car debuted for the 2022 Cup Series season, fans have one major gripe: its horsepower is locked at 670. Next year, though, the Cup Series is implementing new horsepower regulations at certain tracks, meaning the NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse will be more powerful for the 2026 season.
A report from NASCAR.com details the changes headed for the 2026 rulebooks. The horsepower increase has been a long time coming, thanks to pressure from fans and competitors alike who aren’t happy with the current engines’ 670 horsepower. Next season, that figure will be bumped to 750 horsepower for select racetracks, including certain road courses and oval tracks.
Specifically, 750 horsepower will be allowed at the following road courses:
The following ovals will also fall under the new regulations:
“I would say, like any other change that we are considering to the cars, we listen to the fans a lot,” said John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “We listen to the drivers. We have stakeholders in the broadcast, OEM (manufacturers) and team competition and team business folks, so there’s always no shortage of feedback that we get. Our fans are very passionate, they provide very candid feedback, so that all is very important to us.”
Probst also said that the sanctioning body explored the possibility of increasing horsepower for the NASCAR Ford, Chevy, and Toyota race cars beyond 750. However, that figure made the most sense because “everyone felt comfortable that they could get to without having to go and redesign any of the internal parts of the engine.”
NASCAR Ford driver Brad Keselowski wholeheartedly supports the new horsepower regulations, saying, “I am definitely Team Horsepower!”
In addition to new power regulations, the 2026 Cup Series championship could look a lot different, as execs are considering killing off the controversial Playoffs system.
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